


girl problems

by helenganseys



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-08-31 04:22:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8563912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helenganseys/pseuds/helenganseys
Summary: helen gansey has given up on finding the girl for her. instead she focuses her attention on declan's girl problems - until one night she meets a girl who could change her mind.





	1. too high maintenance

“Don’t be such a dick, Declan,” Helen rolled her eyes.

“Hey! I’m nothing like your brother,” Declan snapped back, seeming very pleased with himself.

Helen smiled to herself, both at the terrible joke and at the fact Declan was actually very much like her brother. What they shared most obviously was a love of facts and a desire to protect those around them to an almost dangerous extent. Not to mention the fact they were both complete idiots when it came to girls, a problem that had caused Helen a lot of amusement and a hell of a lot of frustration. The topic of girl problems was very common in Helen and Declan’s loft and it was constantly shifting between Helen’s favourite and least favourite subject.

“Maybe you should just explain the situation to her?” It seemed to Helen to be the most sensible option, but Declan was never what she would call sensible.

“I can’t explain it without it sounding like I’m a complete dumbass!”

“That’s because you are a complete dumbass.”

Declan paused, then after a moment let out a breath. “True.”

Helen smirked and raised her glass, taking a generous sip.

“So I just tell her the truth. I walk up and say…” He stopped again, looking even more hopeless.

Helen put on her best Declan voice, “I’m sorry I missed our dinner, I read the calendar wrong and thought it was next week. Then I realised I got the wrong day and my pride was too hurt to apologise because I’m a complete dumbass.”

“Oh God, she’s going to hate me,” Declan groaned.

“If she’s been with you for this long and doesn’t hate you already then I’m pretty sure you’re safe.”

Declan took a long sip from his wine glass and ran a hand through his hair.

“Oh come on! Stop being such a drama queen, if you don’t ask her to meet you within the next two days you’ll never see her again.”

Helen was at her breaking point; men could be so useless. She decided to take matters into her own hands; she stood up from her usual position on the couch, reached into Declan’s coat for his phone and dialled his girlfriend’s number. Waiting a moment until Ashley picked up, she handed the phone to Declan. Helen winked at her housemate and picked up her glass of wine as she retreated into her own room.

*

Later that night, lying between her silk sheets, Helen heard footsteps coming towards her bedroom. As the door opened she turned on her lamp and sat up in bed.

“How was it?”

“It actually went better than I thought, Ashley was furious at first but we walked around the block as I explained what happened and she seemed more amused than anything else.” Declan sat down on the plush chair in the corner of the room.

“Probably because she already knows you’re a complete dumbass. I mean, surely she doesn’t expect anything else from you after spending so much time with you.”

“I guess you were right about Ashley after all, she’s so great.” Declan smiled, clearly happy with his relationship status.

Helen was not so happy with hers.

“When am I going to find a cute girl who’ll put up with me like Ashley puts up with you?” Helen sighed.

Now it was Declan’s turn to deal with the girl problems. He was never quite as helpful.

“I’m sure you’ll find someone soon, what about that new girl at work?”

“She’s sweet,” Helen paused, “I don’t know, I doubt it would work. I think I’m just too high maintenance for most people.”

“That’s for sure,” Declan said under his breath, still loud enough for Helen to hear, flinging one of her many decorative pillows at his face.


	2. gansey's weren't assistants

Helen was woken from her sleep by the high-pitched beeping of her alarm clock. She rolled over hastily to hit the snooze button, tangling herself in her champagne coloured sheets in the process. As she freed herself from the sheets she knocked over the glass of water on the nightstand next to her bed. 

“God help me.” She said to herself, she would need the extra assistance if the rest of the day continued like this. 

Declan opened the door, leaning into the mostly tidy bedroom. He looked around the room until he found Helen crouched next to the bed picking up the once filled glass.

“Need some help?” Declan offered.

“No! It’s fine, I’ll clean up properly when I get home later tonight.” Helen huffed.

Declan could sense Helen’s mood and decided it was best to get away while he could. He began to back out of the doorway back into the main apartment.

“See you later!”

“Wait! Where are you going?” Helen called out before he could leave the room.

“I’m catching up with an old friend from school, I’ll be home before you leave.” 

“Actually, I have a few errands to run before work so I might not see you until late.”

Declan nodded and said goodbye before turning to walk out the bedroom door. Helen heard the front door close as she stood up from the now soaked carpet, she decided it would only further cause her stress to clean the water. She picked up her phone from her nightstand and left the mess behind. 

As she entered the kitchen area of the loft she noticed Declan had left his dishes on the table - typical. Helen rolled her eyes and placed the dishes into the dishwasher, starting to make herself a piece of peanut butter toast – only lightly toasted, of course. Once her toast was ready she finally sat down at the table and ate her breakfast.

As she was eating her toast she turned on her phone, there were plenty of notifications from her various social media accounts, but what caught her attention was an email from her boss. The email included the time Helen had to arrive at the venue, the pickup time for the ice sculpture and other information regarding the wedding Helen had been planning. Helen’s job at the wedding planning company was still relatively new, this meant she was still yet to lead the organisation of a wedding. Tonight was her last job as an assistant before her first solo wedding for a client she would meet next week. Despite her nerves, she was eager to rid herself of the title “assistant” that haunted her at every family gathering. 

The Gansey’s weren’t assistants; they were leaders, teachers, artists, discoverers. The fact she was an assistant was something almost unheard of, something Helen was ashamed of. So she did what she always did, she worked. Helen went above and beyond to please her boss and her clients. The Gansey's were hard workers – they didn’t suck up, they achieved. It was in their blood.

She finished reading the email and rose from her seat. Leaving the dishes in the dishwasher she drifted to her room to get dressed for her day of work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another short chapter but hopefully i'll be able to update it soon!


	3. a strange feeling

The morning had flown by in a whirlwind of boutique stores, aggravating traffic and multiple coffees. Helen’s list of errands was finally running out, meaning she had time for a quick break before she had to arrive at the venue. The traffic eased and Helen was able to turn the corner into a smaller street that was home to her favourite café in the area. She drove along the street until she found a carpark close to the café, her expensive car eased into the space and she collapsed back into the leather seats as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

If there was one thing Helen loved about running errands it was the fact she had an excuse to spend all day driving. There was something therapeutic about driving that Helen had always appreciated – although, driving was nothing compared to flying her helicopter. Whether she was stuck in mind-numbing traffic or speeding down empty freeways, Helen always felt at peace on the road. There was no one to doubt her, no one to belittle her, no one to pressure her. She could let her thoughts run free, a luxury she could often not afford.

Helen entered the unusually crowded café and ordered from the counter before sitting at one of the few empty tables. Her coffee was brought over and after a few minutes the café was completely full, the only remaining seat was opposite Helen.

A girl entered the café wearing a coat over a very orange dress, or at least Helen guessed it was a dress. Something about the girl caught Helen’s eye, she couldn’t help but stare. Trying to avoid looking like a complete creep, she turned on her phone and pretended to be interested in whatever came up on her screen.

“Hey, mind if I share the table?” Helen looked up to see the girl she had just been staring at right in front of her. She was even more gorgeous up close; everything about her stunned Helen, unlike anyone else she had ever seen.

“Uh, of course.” Helen finally replied.

“Great, thanks! Is it usually this busy in here? I’m on the way to a wedding but I just needed a coffee to keep me going. I didn’t expect it to be so crowded.” The girl said as she dropped into the seat across from Helen.

“Actually, it’s never this busy. I have no idea why it’s like this.” Helen was once again trying not to stare as she talked. The more she looked at the girl the more familiar she seemed, there was something about the way her lips curved and her hair bounced, or perhaps it was the confident way she held herself. Whatever it was, Helen had a strange feeling that she’d seen this girl before.

“Well, I’ll have to come back when it’s quieter. Maybe I’ll see you here again.” The last line made the butterflies in Helen’s stomach flutter so wildly she had to take a sip of coffee to calm down, only there was no coffee left in her cup.

“Oh, well I should probably head off.” Helen tried to hide the blush creeping up her cheeks.

“Bye! See you next time.” The girl said with a wink.

It was suddenly impossible for Helen to hide the fact she was blushing, she walked out of the café very quickly and climbed back into her car. She waited a moment to calm her racing heart before driving away.

Helen was angry that she had been too embarrassed to flirt back. She decided that if by chance she ever saw that mystery girl in orange again, she would talk to her. No matter where, when or why they were meeting. Helen wouldn’t let another opportunity like this escape her.


End file.
